School Board and City Council elections are on Tuesday. I have to admit that I don’t even know enough about the School Board candidates to even pick from amongst them. For City Council I favor Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro, of course. Dave, in particular, I’ve known for years and admire greatly. It’s rare that such a fine human being can be persuaded to run for office. But I live in Stony Point, so I don’t even have a vote.
But that’s just to stir y’all up into writing something of your own. Who do you support for City Council and School Board, and why? I get the sense that a lot of people don’t know one School Board candidate from another at this point, so a compelling argument could well yield a good number of votes.
Way back in highschool, I remember hearing about newspapers that in the good old days of American democracy would run articles describing each of the candidates. But ever since I’ve been able to vote and actually care, I’ve never been able to find this sort of information. This means I show up at my polling place and don’t know half the names on the ballot.
Where does one go these days to find out who’s even ON the ballot, let alone what those individuals stand for?
Jeff
Perhaps the best resource out there is CvilleTomorrow’s Election page – there you can download their voter guide as well as listen to podcasts of the forums, visit their respective websites, and decide for yourself.
–Jim
The Hook has a rundown of ’em all this week.
I am voting for Rob Schilling for Council. Maybe he is only a powerless voice of dissent-but I am disgusted by the Democrats arrogance in only wanting one party represented. There’s a name for one-party rule-Dictatorship. I am fed up with the “we know whats best for you “attitude of the ruling bloc. $30,000 Christmas trees, the transit center,ever-escalating taxes and charges,etc.
For School Board, Sue Lewis, for her record of public service, Ned Michie likewise and the fact that he is carrying on his family’s tradition of public service, and Charlie Kollmansperger who would bring a fresh, new perspective to the Board.
Rob Schilling of course. To avoid being the one or handful whose votes cause him to lose, you don’t have to single-shot as long as you don’t vote for the other two main contenders. You can write in a message. I plan to write in Charles Weber who started the local citizens group to advocate for reduced property taxes. He’s been to many a boring Council meeting and informed the public on the nuts and bolts of how our taxes keep going up.
For School Board:
Vance High because he can speak to details, instead of just broad goals. He was able to tell us a few examples of the violence at Buford and therefore has been the most informative of the candidates. The public is now better equipped to think of solutions.
Charlie Kollmansperger likewise has been a teacher in local schools and can communicate directly and effectively. His 6-point vision known as CHANGE gives a clear idea of what the school system needs to do. He doesn’t just say we should come up with a better way. He actually has ideas of what to try.
Sue Lewis because she is honest. If she doesn’t know the answer, she won’t BS you. She’s worked on many boards and commissions. She’s familiar with local government and brings historical continuity in this transition to an elected school board. So ladies first.
Lewis, High, Kollmansperger on May 2 for a CHANGE.
I’m voting for Schilling and Norris. Schilling can be a something of a blowhard, but given the local Dems’ track record, I think it’s important to not have a one-party monopoly on the Council. Norris seems smart and willing to actually come up with solutions to problems instead of just shoveling money into programs.
The candidate that I just don’t get is Taliaferro. I haven’t heard a single compelling reason to vote for him. Is anyone out there voting for Taliaferro for any reason other than the fact that he’s one of the Democrats? He doesn’t seem to have any ideas, and pretty much his entire platform is based on the fact that he was fire chief for a long time. I just don’t see how that’s a relevant qualification for city council.
I’ve tried hard to find out some info on the school board candidates, but it is hard. I read the responses the candidates wrote about themselves in the Hook, but I didn’t get much of a sense for who they were from that.
I finally got my high-speed connection working again, so I downloaded the podcast, and at least heard them speak a little more.
To tell you the truth, I don’t have any idea about most of the candidates, and I’ve tried to find out. How have most of the voters gotten an impression? Since they aren’t running by party, there is no place to go to find out who is who.
Do any of them support Intelligent Design? I don’t know.
Do any of them support taking money away from public schools to fund private ones? I don’t know.
I remember Vance High from his wacky council run. If he were elected it would make for an interesting term, in a Dan Quayle sort of way.
I guess, since I tend to respectfully disagree with everything cvillenative writes, I’ll vote for the three candidates he isn’t voting for.